Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan rolls out red carpet for Sharjah's Sheikh for his dream project

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has taken an unusual step to please the Royals in Gulf for building Nava Keralam, his dream project to build a new Kerala and to consolidate his vote bank at a time when the BJP is looking to expand its base in the state.

Kerala rolled out a red carpet to welcome ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi who is on a state visit to Kerala and received D.Lit from University of Calicut.

Chief Minister and his Cabinet met Sultan and appealed to him to invest in Kerala.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan presented five projects before the Sultan to draw his attention to the investment opportunities in Kerala and requested his cooperation in sectors like information technology, tourism, healthcare, ayurveda and education.

The CM told the visiting ruler of Sharjah that Kerala is planning a mega investment to the tune of Rs 5000 crore in the infrastructure development of the state in next four years and "need support from Kerala friendly nations to transform the state as the most developed destination in India".

The CM also requested the Sultan to provide land to build Kerala Family City in Sharjah, a community housing project for Malayalis working in Sharjah. Kerala also wants to build an international education and cultural centre showcasing Kerala's history and art and an ayurveda hub.

According to the CM's office, the visiting delegation from Sharjah has responded to Pinarayi Vijayan's request positively and soon a high level team of Sharjah investors are going to visit Kerala to identify the area interest of mutual cooperation and investment.

The delegation from Sharjah has shown interest in investing in education and health sectors in Kerala.

This is the first time the Kerala government has invited investment from gulf countries.